Daniel in Iraq

So, one of the coolest traning events is the Leadership Reaction Course. It gives the chance for each soldier, usually a young and inexperienced solder, to take control of a team of four or five soldiers and execute a mission. The challenges are difficult and oftentimes bizarre. But most of all IT’S A BLAST!!! The course is separated into 16 different obstacles or missions. Missions are focused on real life scenarios. For instance, one might read: “The company that you are with is in desperate need of ammo and has requested an air drop to resupply. The ammo has landed across the river and you must take four soldiers and retrieve the ammo. Upon arriving at the bridge that was your waypoint you have discovered it to have been destroyed by enemy fire. All that is left of the river is the frame and stumps in the quick moving water. Cross the river using the supplied materials: a rope and two planks of wood. Bring back the ammo to the company along with all of your ...

So, by popular demand, or by request by my mother (which ever one you want to believe) I am going to update my post to include some of the most intense and entertaining things I have done in the past 24 hours...or week or two, or month. Well, today I'll describe Close Quarters Combat training that I was involved in. CQC is a style of combat that is probably the most dangerous and most unlikely to happen during my deployment. I, being a mechanic, might be close enough to throw a wrench or a ball peen hammer at someone when I'm in close quarters combat. It is the style of combat when we are kicking down doors and running through rooms trying to rescue the princess or someone else of import. It is intense and demanding physically and mentally. We are constantly yelling out commands and communicating amongst one another. Here in the picture you see a building with walls that are made for people like Gooby and maybe an umpa-lumpa. This is a "glass house", a house...

So, while I am here in this sweltering heat, and if any of you get the hankerin' to test the functionality of the U.S. postal system, I do have a destination that you can try out. James Garvin SGT HHC 96th SBDE North Fort Hood, TX 76544 There you go. I here that UPS and Fed Ex understand that address also. You could send a couple of different packages from each of the different shipping providers and see which one gets here first. Sounds like fun to me. But try not to stick too much chocolate in the boxes. Candy in general is not advisable unless it's a dry powdery based candy, ie. smarties, sweet tarts, even lemon heads might be ok. Think about leaving this box in an oven, you could even try it yourself to see how it turns out, everything just turns to mush. Not quite the golden brown you would want. OHH MAN, I wish you could send raw cookie dough and have it turn out golden brown, but I don't think that would work out that well either. So yeah, that's my...

Welcome to my blog. The following is a health disclaimer and is boring. I think that I should begin with a confession followed by a rationalization if you don't mind. First, the confession. I have frequently and boisterously ridiculed the thousands upon thousands of members of e-communities and internet social programs. I have belittled their lack of human interaction and their misguided attempt to reach out to others through an anonymous computer screen filled with a society that is easy to cope with. I have said that it is easy for them to interact this way because, if the society rejects them, they can turn the screen off. I gave them the advise, go out and get real friends with real jobs and real personalities, not one that is made up and presented through prefabricated icons and music lyrics. I told them to go out and show real people who they are by interacting with them in person, by smiling and telling stories, instead of following a tutorial showing them how to ...